Woo Sang-hyuk (27-Yongin City Hall), who jumped 2.36 meters in hopes of winning a medal, had a disappointed look on his face as he watched the bar fall.토토사이트
However, he quickly turned to the crowd and raised his arms in greeting.
His dreams of winning back-to-back World Athletics Championships medals have been dashed, but there is no time to dwell on it.
Woo Sang-hyuk cleared 2.29 meters to finish sixth in the men’s high jump final at the World Athletics Championships 2023 at the Budapest National Stadium in Hungary on Wednesday (July 23).
After being blocked at 2.33 meters and 2.36 meters, Woo congratulated Jean-Marco Tamberi (31-ITA) and Jubon Harrison (24-USA), who cleared 2.36 meters, and Mutaz Esa Barsim (32-Qatar), who cleared 2.33 meters.
Woo, who became the first Korean athlete to win a World Championships silver medal in Eugene, Oregon, USA, last year when he cleared 2.35 meters, was looking for a medal in Budapest. The World Athletics Federation had him as one of the favorites to win.
However, he had to settle for a non-medal in Budapest.
Despite the disappointment, Woo’s competitive spirit continues to flourish.
Woo will compete in the Diamond League (DL) at 1:48 a.m. ET on Sept. 1 in Zurich, Switzerland.
Currently in fifth place with 14 Diamond League points, Woo can qualify for the Diamond League Finals on his own with five more points in Zurich.
The Diamond League awards eight to one points to the first through eighth place finishers in each event. The top six finishers in the men’s high jump advance to the final, which this year will be held on September 16 and 17 in Eugene, USA.
Last year, Woo finished seventh with 16 Diamond League ranking points, missing out on a spot in the final by one point to Andriy Prochenko (35-Ukraine), who finished sixth with 17 points.
After winning Doha 2022 (8 points) and finishing second in Monaco (7 points), Woo finished eighth in Lausanne on Aug. 22 due to poor form.
“Last year, I went to Lausanne with a broken heart after the World Championships (2nd place),” said Woo Sang-hyuk after an open training session on the last two days. This year will be different,” Woo vowed, “I will advance to the Diamond League Final and bring home something heavy (the Diamond League Final trophy).”
After missing out on a medal at the World Championships in Budapest, he was even more motivated to become the first Korean athlete to reach the Diamond League Final.
After returning home from the Diamond League Final, Woo packed his bags again and headed to Hangzhou, China.
The men’s high jump final at the Hangzhou Asian Games (AG) will be held on October 4.
If Woo wins the final against Barshim, Korean athletics will have its first Asian Games gold medal in the men’s high jump in 21 years, since Lee Jin-taek won the event in Bangkok 1998 and Busan 2002.
Woo’s dreams are set on the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
“My biggest goal is to win the Paris Olympics,” he said on several occasions, “and then we will make plans for the Tokyo World Championships in 2025, the Asian Games in Aichi and Nagoya in 2026, and the Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028. I want to continue to write new history for Korean athletics.”
Woo made his breakthrough as a world-class jumper with a fourth-place finish at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics in 2.35m, then went on to win the World Indoor Championships in Belgrade 2022 (2.34m) and finish second at the 2022 World Championships (2.35m), setting new milestones for Korean athletics.
Despite the setback at this year’s World Championships, there are still major international competitions to come.
National coach Kim Do-gyun said after the 23rd, “I feel like I’ve been given a new homework assignment. We will only regret today and work harder to prepare for the next competitions such as the Hangzhou Asian Games.”
If Woo Sang-hyuk can fulfill his homework assignment in Budapest, he will have another chance to make history in Korean athletics.